Hostile Love : An Enemies to Lovers, Reverse Age Gap Dark Mafia Romance (Souza Cartel: Matheus)

1. Daniela

I’ve been cooped up within these same four walls for long enough. I’d kick the steel door in if I thought it was going to work.

Earlier, when I’d regained consciousness on the concrete floor, I was all alone. My cell phone had disappeared and the collection of weapons I had under my base layer was missing too.

Though I’d chuckled, remembering my favorite daggers were still stuck in Eduardo’s face.

Out of my thirty-two years of life, the overwhelming sense of euphoria I’d had when my blades punctured his eyeballs…that was priceless.

For years, I’d been harnessed by a hunger to slaughter the bastard. Then Matheus handed the asshole over to me and my soul came to life.

Even now, a shiver of justice prickles over my skin. A tingle of blissful retribution—but deep within the dark corners of my violent little heart, I’m scared.

Not because I was kidnapped from outside my father’s safe house in the city or that I’m imprisoned somewhere unknown to me all over again.

It’s because I have an inherent desire to be near Matheus Souza all the time. He got to me, and I let him.

And the bliss I enjoyed while finally avenging Margo—that was just a fraction of how I felt when Matheus put his hands on me.

Which he did––a lot––and, in truth, I loved it.

Even when the guy simply smiled at me, that connection had a way of coaxing out my vulnerabilities.

I didn’t think I had any weakness, but I guess behind my murdering mindset lies a gentle woman craving real love.

After he gave me Eduardo as a gift, he asked me to trust him. When I arrived at Blanco’s, I did. One hundred percent.

I was all in.

Call it reckless abandonment or whatever. I trusted him implicitly.

Only he slashed right through the bond we’d somehow forged and plunged a pen into my heart, making the ink of his actions poison in my veins.

The guy I had sworn to myself I’d never feel anything for signed a contract that tied him to my little sister as her future husband. He put himself in an irreversible alliance with Sofia Blanco.

Matheus picked another woman. He willingly attached himself to her. Not me.

His shady Souza ways are the reason my heart hurts and my stomach aches. He was the reason I got distracted and ran headfirst into danger.

Why I’m locked up in this shitty empty office by myself all because of a Souza.

Over time, the Souza god had worked his way under my skin. Killed my nightmares. Gave me a source of happiness. Made me truly fall for his bullshit––for him.

And then he did what every lying, cheating Souza does.

He betrayed me.

That alone should awaken all sorts of destructive emotions. I should hate the man even more.

Unfortunately, I don’t.

And that”s why I’m scared.

I’m in love with a guy who’s going to marry the heir to the Blanco empire rather than an assassin.

He chose an innocent girl, a decade younger than me, all because she matches his beauty, power, and wealth.

I should hate my sister for it too. But it’s not her fault.

Blanco makes the decisions in our family and his daughters obey.

Matheus, on the other hand, doesn’t have to do anything he doesn’t want to do. Not only is he Souza royalty, but he has three ruthless brothers looking out for him.

He could have turned Blanco’s offer down. Made another deal. Paid a million dollars. Threatened a war. Or he could have told Blanco he wanted me.

Clearly, the lure of secrets and power was his real weakness. Not his foolish ex-roommate, who should have known better than to fall for his charm.

The longer I pace and mull everything over, the harder it is to breathe. I need an escape plan. And not just for this place.

Outside, beyond the window, there’s a constant hum of trucks arriving and reversing to leave once their loads are removed.

I’d already rubbed a circle in the grimy glass and peered out into the daylight. Only there wasn’t much to see. Other than a few guys unloading boxes from the back of a trailer.

I’m wise enough to know there wouldn”t be any point attracting their attention. They’re involved in whatever shit I’m eyeballs deep in.

The only person I can count on is me.

My chest tightens and the saliva in my mouth dries, making it tricky to swallow without my throat sticking. I run my hands through my hair and grip the roots tight to my skull, my frustration taking its toll.

I’ve suffered this set up before, which is why my pulse is pumping so damn hard I could vomit.

Except back then, I was stripped of my clothes and dignity. Today, though, I’m fully dressed in black utility pants and a long-sleeved top. Despite that, I’m still at the mercy of whoever took me.

The powerful thrum in my chest makes me feel uneasy. It’s making me wish I could rip the veins from my body and replace the weakness flowing through them with liquid steel.

But it doesn’t matter. Even though the wound on my side is still healing, I’d fight my way out of here and I won’t back down.

No fucking surrender.

I curl my fingers tighter and growl, the lonely echo of it hitting me hard. At least there’s natural light in here. I’m thankful for it.

My inhales and exhales sound breathy, so I purposefully slow them down to regain some measure of control.

I can do this. I will get out of here alive.

And when I do––I’m going to ignore the guy who took a piece of my heart before it finally stopped beating.

My obsession with Matheus won’t change the facts.

I’d have to stamp out my feelings for him.

Sofia is my family, and she needs me. It’s my duty to take care of her. Whereas Matheus is nothing more than a liar.

My internal rants come to an abrupt stop when the door flings inward. Two guys stroll inside, both similar in height, dressed in designer t-shirts and denim.

The one on the left sports a light scattering of hair on his youthful face and a contrasting shaved head, whereas the other guy holding a gun is tidier, more kempt.

He’s clean shaven and wears a baseball cap.

They must be the same age as Matheus, if not younger. Though age doesn”t matter. Not when you”re caught up in the criminal underworld.

These two were probably recruited straight out of college.

They’d easily shoot me dead for a cash reward and maybe bury me too, if they were paid extra.

The one wearing the cap steps closer, his gun pointed at me as he pulls out a phone from his jeans’ pocket.

“You work for Blanco, yeah?” he demands, tapping the screen with his thumb and turning it around for me to see. “This you?”

I straighten when it starts without any volume. The video’s replaying the exact moment I’d shoved my daggers into Eduardo’s eyes.

Morbid satisfaction buzzes through me, warm and addictive.

“Nah, that”s not me. Looks nothing like me,” I retort, dripping sarcasm. “I’m a gardener. I cut trees down.”

He cocks a brow, his energy becoming dark.

“Keep watching. Maybe you’ll recognize your cunt when Matheus Souza starts fucking it. You two are up to something. This proves it.”

My temper starts to boil, quick and hot.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Right…” He angles the phone back and fast forwards the footage. “That you he’s fucking?”

I bristle. Taking another look at the small screen, I watch myself lie back on the table at the abandoned club, finally accepting my feelings for Matheus.

I had surrendered to him and let go of the hatred I had for his family.

Matheus was everything I never knew I wanted. Those intimate moments were private, and this fucker has a recording of us on his phone.

“We have cameras everywhere. Rookie mistake not checking before you took off your mask.”

The professional sicario in me recoils, but the young woman who finally got revenge can easily live with it.

Realistically, these two guys aren’t a problem for me. I could knock the legs out from under this one, steal his gun, and shoot them both in the face before they even knew a woman had kicked their asses, but curiosity keeps me waiting.

“What about this? You recognize the woman who takes his hand like an obedient dog and walks out of the club with him?”

I stay still, not giving anything away, even though I’m far from calm inside.

The surge of anger within me multiplies a thousand times over. A spark of danger and deception hangs in the air, charged like a ticking time bomb, ready to detonate at any second.

My eyes drill into the sight of Matheus and me holding hands. Fuck, I’d soared to cloud nine with him.

“Must be a doppelg?nger. You know what that word means, kid?” I mock, folding my arms.

His blank expression doesn”t change.

“He stood back and let a Blanco soldier kill one of his own.”

My blood runs cold. “Think you’ve got the wrong person.”

“Nah,” he mutters. “It’s you and Matheus, all right. Blanco scum murdered Eduardo—the Souzas betrayed their own men.”

Christ. These guys are from the Souza cartel.

“Matheus has started a war, and his brothers won’t see it coming.” He continues. “And I’m going to cut those pretty eyes out of your skull for what you did to my uncle. When Matheus gets here, I’ll hand them to him before I take his.”

I shake my head and laugh under my breath.

“Who, Matheus? Are you kidding? Do you really think he’s going to come here?”

“You”re his bitch, right?”

“The Souzas don’t involve themselves in petty shit like this. They send disposable fucks like you to do their dirty work. Maybe that guy with the daggers in his eyeballs deserved everything he got. Bet he was a rat.”

The gun pointed at my chest jumps to my cheek.

“My uncle wasn’t a rat, you fucking puta!”

“You’re going head-to-head with the most powerful cartel in Colombia. You won’t win.”

Eduardo’s nephew shrugs. “That’s how we rise to the top, puta. By taking them out by the roots.”

He smirks, and my blood freezes.

“We know all their movements, who their enemies are, and what makes them weak. The whole Souza family are targets…and it starts with the women they care about. Colombia will see a new cartel rise from the Souzas’ ashes.”